The American duo went into Saturday’s match against Cuba with a 2-0 record before falling to the Cuban team of Sergio Gonzalez and Karell Pina 21-18, 21-14. Smith and del Sol then rallied to defeat the Canadian 2 team of Simon Fecteau-Boutin and Michael Plantinga (21-15, 14-21, 16-14) and advance to the semifinals.

The Mexico 1 team of Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros defeated Smith and del Sol in straight sets in the semifinals, 21-16, 21-13. The Mexicans would go on to win the gold medal over Cuba.

The bronze medal match slated the U.S. against Puerto Rico-1’s Roberto Rodriguez and Erick Haddock. The Puerto Ricans had fallen to Cuba in their semifinal game, but rebounded strong against a struggling U.S. team.

Rodriguez and Haddock took the early lead over the Americans with the 21-10 victory in the first set. Smith and del Sol defaulted the second game due to an injury, automatically giving the Puerto Ricans the bronze medal.

The Americans, whose previous best finish was sixth, placed higher than ever before despite the injury.